Little People, Big World: Game Time on the Farm

I've been a fan of the Roloffs for a long time - they were actually one of the first TLC families that I really started following way back in 2006. I was a bit sad when the series was cancelled, but it was really nice following bits and pieces of their lives through the TLC specials. I wasn't the biggest fan of the Wedding Farm spinoff, but I was pretty excited for the family to return to regular installments, even if only "for the summer." However, I'm starting to second-guess myself. The series is definitely having hits and misses, and I don't think trying to recreate the past (both in the "games day" and in the upcoming return of the trebuchet) is doing them any favors.

Little People, Big World "Til Death Do Us Part" (S07E02): Jeremy helps out a lot with the wedding area cleaning, though the other kids are plenty busy with it, too. Three weeks before the wedding, there is still no dwelling for the bride to use, so Matt is thinking of bringing in a pre-fab trailer of sorts. Amy thinks Matt's office might be a good option, but he fights that and they get an RV for the brides to use. [how does his logic work?] Matt wants to turn a 20-year-old wagon into a usable hay ride mobile at the last minute, slamming Jeremy with work. [it wasn't beautiful, but it was a lot better than when he started!]

TLC

Matt has to act as the officiant at the rehearsal dinner, but the wedding day itself is full of kinks, including the bride feeling sick and the tractor not starting! But, after the ceremony, the hay ride is nice, and the couple meets their close friends  at the saloon in the Western Town. [that was a fun surprise!] During the reception, Jeremy prints out the phots that he took all day and posts them into a book of farm photos. [man, he gets the lion's share of the work!] After the wedding, Jeremy takes the family for a ride around the farm, and it's not too long before Rocky passes away.

Little People, Big World "Game On!" (S07E03): The Roloffs are behind on preparing for pumpkin season because they've been working on the weddings, and there's a lot planned for the pumpkin season. There will be a new FunZone with a cornmaze, an obstacle course, and a hay pyramid, plus the trebuchet will be back in business. But, when Zach leads the kids on a tubing adventure instead of assisting around the farm, Matt plans a day of family games to get the kids more interested in helping out. Tori joins the family in the competitions, and the teams change with each event to allow for a single winner.

First, there is a race around the farm in a mule, with stops to do certain things like pick cherries, pick up shirts, take a picture, and make a basketball shot. Matt & Molly go first and finish in 7:11, with no big slow-downs anywhere. Amy & Tori finish in 9:33, with Tori having issues shooting a basketball and collecting cherries. [how did she not understand how to use her shirt as a bowl??] The brothers finish in 6:26, but Zach took off a few times without waiting for the passengers to put on their seatblets, and Jeremy took his off as soon as they finished, almost getting them disqualified. Plus, when Amy hears about the shortcuts others did to save time, she thinks it isn't fair, but they let them stand.

The next event is the Minefield Competition, where there's an obstacle course, and one teammate must give verbal directions so the other (blindfolded) can get through it. [I thought that the layout was pretty interesting, and would be troublesome for the non-soccer oriented, LoL.] Each team must do both parts, which showcases some of the weaknesses the family members have. Molly, Tori, and Zach finish in 1:33, with Zach being the most detailed. Jeremy and Jacob finish in :58, but only thanks to Jeremy's directions, as Jacob barely verbalized commands. Matt and Amy struggle, and complete the course in 2:30. 

The next round is a cooking competition where Amy judges rather than competes. Three areas can earn 5 points each: taste, presentation, and time. Teams get 5 minutes to plan and 30 minutes to make the meal. Zach and Tori go first, making cheesy spaghetti with salad. Zach didn't have a lot of energy in the challenge, and they finish just on time, earning 12/15 points. [Zach has been living on his own for a while now... what does he eat??] Jeremy and Jacob do a stuffed omelet and a smoothie, but they don't know what seasonings to do for a burger omelet, and almost forget to put all of the ingredients in. [hilarious that Jacob thought Jeremy was good at omelets!] They turn it into a burrito to try to salvage the burned part, but also struggle with the blender. Add to that a made-up story about their ingredients, and Amy awards them 9/15. Last is Molly and Matt, who do fish tacos with rice & beans, and peach salsa. Molly knew what to do and just gave Matt orders, and although they finish just in time, they get a perfect score. [I generally dislike fish tacos, but those looked pretty good... just no cheese for me!] 

Then, there's family & farm trivia. Everyone writes some questions, and Tori moderates Matt, Zach, and Jeremy against Amy, Molly, and Jacob. We learn that, besides pumpkins, the farm's first produce to be sold were peaches. There are some controversial answers because they're subjective questions. [I would have gone with Matt's 3, not Amy's 4. also, it's weird to hear the kids call their parents by their first names!] Amy's team wins.

The final event is a soccer game - Jeremy, Molly, and Tori. vs Zach, Jacob, and Amy. [Matt as referee when it's pretty much the short people against the tall people... interesting.] Jeremy's team wins.

The final places: #7 - Amy  #6 - Tori  #5 - Matt  #4 - Zach  #3 - Molly  #2 - Jacob  #1 - Jeremy. [the three bottom places each missed a competition, so OF COURSE they'll have less points!]

The next morning, everyone works on the trebuchet together, so Matt considers his ploy a success.